Reuters’ Chris Francescani has written a lengthy report after investigating the life of George Zimmerman prior to the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Here are some of the key points as summarized by the Business Insider:

*Zimmerman’s 2005 arrest for “resisting arrest, violence, and battery of an officer” occurred after he shoved an under-cover alcohol control agent at a bar when the agent was trying to arrest his underage friend.

*Zimmerman married his wife, Shellie, in 2007. They rented a house in Twin Lakes which is about 50% white, 20% Hispanic, and 20% black.

*In 2009, Zimmerman enrolled in Seminole State College.

*In the fall of 2009, a pit bull broke free twice and once cornered Shellie in the Zimmermans’ yard. George Zimmerman asked a police officer whether he should buy pepper spray. The cop told him pepper spray wasn’t fast enough and recommended he get a gun.

*By the summer of 2011, Twin Lakes “was experiencing a rash of burglaries and break-ins.” In several of the cases, witnesses said the robbers were young black men.

*In July 2011, a black teenager stole a bicycle off the Zimmermans’ porch.

*In August of 2011, a neighbor of the Zimmermans, Olivia Bertalan, was home during the day when two young black men entered her house. She hid in a room upstairs and called the police. When the police arrived, the two men, who had been trying to take a TV, fled. One of them ran through the Zimmermans’ yard.

*After the break-in, George Zimmerman stopped by the Bertalans and gave Olivia a card with his name and number on it. He told her to visit his wife Shellie if she felt unsafe.

*In September, several concerned residents of the neighborhood asked the neighborhood association to create a neighborhood watch. Zimmerman was asked to run it.

*In the next month, two more houses in the neighborhood were robbed.

*On February 2, 2012, Zimmerman spotted a young black man looking into the windows of a neighbor’s empty house. He called the police and said “I don‘t know what he’s doing. I don’t want to approach him, personally.” The police sent a car, but by the time they arrived, the man was gone.

*On February 6th, another house was burglarized. Witnesses said two of the robbers were black teenagers. One, who had prior burglary convictions, was soon caught with a laptop stolen from the house.

*Two weeks later, Zimmerman spotted Trayvon Martin and called the police. The last time he had done this, the suspect got away. This time, he disregarded police instructions and followed. A few minutes later, Martin was dead.

Unfortunately, having been an alter boy does not prevent one from committing murder. I am, however, interested in the events leading to the night of Trayvon’s death. My hope for George Zimmerman and the family of Trayvon Martin is for a fair trial. I do not know what transpired the night Trayvon was shot dead. I do know that Spike Lee tweeting an incorrect address for Zimmerman’s home led to two elderly people fearing for their lives. And that NBC was unscrupulous in their editing of the 911 call. I also know of retaliatory attacks carried out in Trayvon’s name.

Mix a social media frenzy along with false reporting, then throw in a president who instead of calling for calm and due process stoked the flames further by pointing out, “You know, if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” And what do you get? A circus with more obstacles to overcome on the way to uncovering the unknowns.

If George Zimmerman did shoot Trayvon because he was black and wearing a hoodie, I will be the first to applaud when they lock him up. Until then, I stand by this statement made by an attorney for the Martin family, Benjamin Crump:

“We’re asking everybody who really cares about justice for Trayvon Martin to follow the example of Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, his mother and father, in remaining peaceful, having faith in our system and being prayerful that everything is going to work out regardless of the great length of time that it has taken. Nobody can be hurt more than them; nobody can be more outraged than them. If they can continue to carry themselves in a dignified manner, we all should.”

Do you believe Zimmerman will receive a fair trial and that justice will be served for both George and Trayvon?

Please visit my colleague, Amy Bradley-Hole, as she blogs about politics from a liberal point of view.

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33 Responses to Will justice prevail for Trayvon Martin & George Zimmerman?

Katiesays:

April 27, 2012 at 6:39 am

I hope justice prevails for Trayvon. As for Zimmerman, I was trying to withhold judgment, but I can’t get beyond the fact that he killed an unarmed child. There’s not a whole lot more you need to tell me as a mother. Also, after the news came out yesterday that he hid 200k and pretended to be destitute to get bail, in my mind he’s a proven liar. Maybe his lawyers didn’t know, but he knew. I’ve also lost some faith in humanity that people are giving a person money for shooting a child. THAT is driven by hate.

But the story I believe we need to focus on is how the heck to fix the gun laws in this country. People like to say “people don’t kill people, guns kill people”, but if Zimmerman didn’t have a gun that night, this would all be different. We have to figure out how to get common sense gun laws passed.

juliussays:

April 27, 2012 at 6:42 am

No. I don’t think he will receive a fair trial. I have given up on actually having an opinion on what actually happened as there has been so much misrepresentation and contortions that I can’t possibly sort it out. I can’t stand Alan Dershowitz and I was surprised to see his comments on this issue.

I do wish anyone who cares about justice takes a long look at how the media has handled this story. The false editing was just part of it. NBC never aired an on-air correction about the edit. A New York Times reporter called NBC about just that fact.

Also, media outlets continued to run pictures of Trayvon that were years old. Why not show a more recent picture? The younger picture arouses sympathy, but it also makes him look much less threatening that he PERHAPS looked the night of the shooting. I believe this was done intentionally to make Zimmerman look bad and arouse anger and sympathy for the victim.

I also find that President Obama had no right to weigh in on this story the way that he did (saying that if he had a son it would look just like Trayvon). I know he cares about black people, but we are all American citizens and is a victim that looks like a different race from Trayvon somehow of less value. I thought the President was going to unite us as a nation. He is the President, but he is not our king and he should at least in the short term deferred to local law enforcement and simply wished that the issue was treated fairly as we all should. Of course this isn’t the first time the President has used his position to speak out about police and issues with blacks in particular. His comments on the Gates incident in Cambridge showed an apalling lack of maturity and respect for police.

I feel like many people covering this story and commenting on it were motivated by a desire to create racial tension. I believe that the coverage of this story was designed to make black americans mad.

I do wonder though it the media feels any remorse whatsoever about the reports of black teenagers shooting at a police car over this incident. Should these kids end up in any kind of legal trouble, what favor exactly has the media distortion done for them?

Katiesays:

April 27, 2012 at 6:51 am

“but it also makes him look much less threatening”

Seriously? Why would the photo of a 17 year old boy be threatening? Are you saying the picture May chose looks threatening? Because he looks like a normal 17 year old boy to me.

juliussays:

April 27, 2012 at 7:04 am

Katie#1. Did you read May’s article? Did you see where they suggested he get a gun because they had problem with a pit bull cornering his wife? You know pit bulls that have been bred to fight can kill don’t you.

I have no patience for the anti-gun lobby and that includes Bank of America which stopped servicing accounts to a manufacturing of gun parts (a whole different story).

Women buy guns to protect themselves from abusive husbands. Do you want to take that right away? People who live in areas with wild animals (and loose pit bulls) buy guns to protect themselves from animals.

People need to start reading other sources of news besides the legacy medial. None of them will cover a story that is remotely positive about guns.

No, I don’t own a gun, but I feel much safer living in a community with high rates of gun ownership.

juliussays:

April 27, 2012 at 7:24 am

Katie: You are looking for a fight and I am not interested in it today. The pictures most of the outlets showed were from a junior high football picture.

Michelle Msays:

April 27, 2012 at 7:28 am

@ Katie, Julius’ VERY VALID point is that all the pictures being shown of Trayvon are that of a young teenager, perhaps 13-14 years old. They clearly portray him as this small, defenseless child, rather than the 17 yeard old boy (almost man) that he was the night George Zimmerman met him. The media is clearly playing a masterful psycological mind game, and they know it.

I find it disturbing that you are so certain that people donating to George ZImmerman is driven by hate. Do you really believe you know what is in every person’s heart who has tried to help Zimmerman? Can you not even leave room in your judgement for the possibility that these people are driven by compassion for a man who has already been demonized by the media, long before the FACTS of the case are revealed in a court of law?

Like May & Julius, I don’t know nearly enough about the true facts of that night to make a judgement, so I will leave that to the professionals, and hope that they all do their jobs without the influence of uninformed/misinformed masses. I also will pray for Trayvon’s family, AND for George Zimmerman and his family.

Squirrelsays:

April 27, 2012 at 7:48 am

Well, if it weren’t for the media, Zimmerman would probably have gotten off without a proper investigation of this case. The media may not be perfect, but they’re not the “bad guy” here that some are trying to make them out to be.

The facts remain that Zimmerman followed Martin and Martin ended up dead, despite doing nothing but walking in the rain with some Skittles and an iced tea. If Zimmerman would have listened to the 911 operator and let the actual police handle this, Martin would probably still be alive today.

juliussays:

April 27, 2012 at 8:04 am

Squirrel; I get what you are saying, but I am not convinced that the media’s actions are actually resulting in a “proper investigation. ” Do you? What are the chances for a fair trial?
don’t you think the media could have covered this story without resorting to deceptive and divisive tactics or did they have no choice?

If the races were reversed and the new racial designation of white-hispanic had been the victim and the shooter was black. Would the media have even been interested?

Did the media bother to cover the story of the a 13 year old white child that had gasoline poured on him and then lit on fire by two black kids that were reported to say “this is what you deserve white boy.”. He has first degree burns on his face.

I’d post the link, but the last post I made that links has yet to show. It happened in Kansas City.

The media could have covered this story without stoking outrage.

Christina in Canadasays:

April 27, 2012 at 8:14 am

I have to agree with julius that the liberal media has portrayed this in a biased manner from the start. Before many details were out they had already convicted zimmerman in their reporting. They had me out for blood when I first heard of this story, just as they intended. As more details have emerged, I have just become confused. I don’t know what really happened. None of us do. I hope that truth will come out in a trial. Either way this is a sad event and nothing will bring back Trayvon to his grieving parents.

Joysays:

April 27, 2012 at 8:18 am

I agree with Julius, if the races had been turned around, then there would be no media attention. I think everything is still all about race and I believe this could lead to harsher punishments for whites than blacks because they have to proove a point that they are somewhat “fair”. What happened is an extremely unfortunate and sad event but they need to let race go. Until we stop playing the blame game on race, we will never move past it.

Squirrelsays:

April 27, 2012 at 9:11 am

julius – If it’s the story I think you’re referring to, the perpetrators have been investigated and charged – correct? That is the difference – this story was picked up because Zimmerman was getting off scot-free for killing a teenage boy. In the other story, the authorities were not mishandling the case so egregiously.

With respect to the media, they produce what the people want. If we (Americans in general) didn’t pay attention to those outlets who constantly twist the stories around, they’d stop producing them. We get what we “pay” for.

Hugs4Jacksays:

April 27, 2012 at 9:54 am

The media should be ashamed of how they twisted this case. They purposely edited the 911 call to make Zimmerman look like a racist. Katie-that is a big reason that people are sending money to support Zimmerman. We are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, if the facts and the evidence support the states case then hopefully justice will be done but the media and even a BC blogger apparently already know exactly what happened, how it happened and why it happened, and have already convicted Zimmerman.

The media knew that when they twisted the truth that it would enrage people and provoke violence. I live in the city that borders Sanford and there were reports of stores being vandalized, but hey screw those people just trying to make. living right? We’ve got an agenda to push. Not much media coverage when the New Black Panthers put a bounty on Zimmermans head or the judge that granted him bail.

Catrinasays:

April 27, 2012 at 10:03 am

I also agree with everything mg Julius said.

Michelle Msays:

April 27, 2012 at 10:11 am

And why wasn’t Spike Lee arrested when he sent a tweet out to the world of what he thought was Zimmerman’s home address?

A completely innocent elderly couple – who had nothing whatsoever to do with this case could have been seriously injured – or God forbid – even killed, because Spike Lee thinks vigilante justice – before there’s even been a full investigation and trial, is ok. You don’t think was motivated by HATE? If you do, then you should be complaining about that as loudly as you are about people freely spending their own money in a manner of their own choosing.

Josays:

April 27, 2012 at 11:41 am

Of course this a racially charged issue, and I commend the president for pointing out that fact. I think it’s really easy for people who hold white privilege to want to ignore racial factors. @joy, people of colour actually receive longer sentences for the same crimes at whites so you should probably check your facts.

Catsays:

April 27, 2012 at 12:31 pm

I agree with Julius about the whole media skewing facts and rousing feelings of outrage against and unarmed child. I have seen “more current” pictures and read accounts of Trayvon as the 17 YO. He apparently had been in trouble for assault, but was let off due to his minor status, and candid shots of him portray a “gangsta” attitude, grill and all.
He was not a sweet fresh-faced boy scout selling popcorn, he was a albeit a boy in a man-sized body, likely acting shady. Not that I am saying him getting shot was right, but damn right I would have been suspicious as hell in Zimmerman’s circumstance. It’s a shame, but he should not have been thugging around.

Moderate Momsays:

April 27, 2012 at 2:07 pm

Enough! Someone’s child died! A young life was cut short and Trayvon will never get to grow up, experience college, get married or have children of his own. And George Zimmerman’s wife is now facing a possibility of life without her husband and his family will forever live with the stigma of this horrific incident. I am so appalled that you people will sit here and bicker about race issues and media coverage and bash on the president when two families are greiving tragic losses. I am by no means a liberal tree hugger and I am not an ultra conservative either so I’m not picking on either side. I just think you, especially as mothers, should be ashamed of yourselves for passing judgment on someone who is deceased. Imagine if that was your child! And while I’m here, I will take a moment to say that May, I find your posts to be very bitter and condescending. Perhaps you would have an easier time reaching more of the BabyCenter audience if they were written with a kinder tone and a little more compassion?

BSDsays:

April 27, 2012 at 2:36 pm

Zimmerman was asked by the dispatcher in the 9-1-1 call if he following Martin. When Zimmerman told the dispatcher he was following Martin, the dispatcher told him they didn’t need him following him, but he did it anyway. He clearly put himself in this situation.

koolchickensays:

April 27, 2012 at 6:14 pm

I hope this whole thing gets thrown out. He’s already lost his case in the court of public opinion. The evidence has been screwed with since the beginning, and there is absolutely no way he’s going to get a fair trial. A boy is dead, nothing is going to bring him back. Maybe having him walk would be a good thing. That way when something like this happens again people won’t be so quick to screw with the facts in the media. They’ll let the police, lawyers, and judges do the jobs we trust them to do.

Natashasays:

April 27, 2012 at 6:20 pm

I’m with Julius on this one….well spoken. I do believe this trial is happening in the media, which is wrong. And people kill people….please don’t take away our right to protect ourselves. (gasp-and I’m a total hippie/granola/liberal)

ARHsays:

April 27, 2012 at 6:49 pm

Hi Mary. The closing statements of your article so mixes the proverbial apples with the oranges. This killing does not have to be about race for it to still qualify as murder. For me, that is a very important and salient point. For WHATEVER reason, George Zimmerman tunecessarily took the life of this teenager that night. I dont care if GZ adopts 10 black children between today and his trial. He still murdered Trayvon Martin and he still needs to go to prison for it.

I have read every comment that everyone is making about the case and the one thing that no one seems to care about is the fact that when Zimmerman saw Trayvon he was not doing anything criminal and yet he chose to confront him anyway. He was the one who approached him with a gun. What would you do if you were confronted by an armed man? Would you see this as a threat and fight for your life? I would. If Zimmerman had done one thing which was to leave Trayvon alone as he was instructed to do we would not be talking about this case and this young man who had done nothing wrong would still be alive. And as for the picture that has been shown of Trayvon, what difference does it make whether it is a younger picture or an older picture this was still someones child. Does having an older picture make him seem more threatening and therefore makes Zimmermans story more believable? I’m not saying whether he is guilty or innocent but I am saying he is the only one alive to tell his story. He continues to say that his life is over. No its not. Your still alive and you will continue to live no matter what happens in the end.

The media has twisted this case, just like they twist most cases; they’re sensationalists and it’s just what they do. Most people should have learned by now that one can’t read a newspaper and believe that one is reading the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The problem is that there might not have been a trial if they hadn’t done what they did. Whether Trayvon Martin was a “boy scout” or a “gangster,” fact remains: he was unarmed, he did not asult anyone and, though I’m sure Zimmerman had reason to be suspicious due to earlier experiences, one does not have the right to gun people down because there’s a “possibility” that they’re up to no good. With all due respect, people want to scream about how he’s innocent until proven guilty, but what about the boy that he shot dead? Where was his right to the same thing? What was he indeed guilty of? And how sure could Zimmerman be of his presumed guilt? Even if Trayvon Martin had planned to break in to someone’s house, did he deserve to die? To my knowledge the U.S doen’t hand down a death penalty for burglury, but a person should be allowed to take somebody’s life because there was a “chance” that he “maybe” had, or was going to, steal something from someone? It is a pretty pathetic excuse for a law that could allow someone to kill an unarmed child without consiquences…

Alysays:

April 28, 2012 at 5:32 am

Seriously, koolchicken? Seriously?!?!

If someone gunned down your kid for wearing a hoodie and carrying skittles, you would think that they deserve to get away with it, and laws should stay just the way they are, as a bold statement to the “liberal media?”. Make sure you tell your kids that, just so they know where they stand.

You’re darn right “the evidence has been screwed with since the beginning,” and you know where it started? THE SANFORD POLICE DEPT!!! The ire really does belong at the systemic level at least as much as it does at the George Zimmerman level, probably more. That there is a law that allows you to stalk someone, and if they try to protect themselves (w/o a gun) you can shoot them in “self-defense” is an insanity that I will never understand. Try being a woman escaping an abusive relationship while that’s the law…hubby breaks restraining order, you try to get away by swinging your cast iron skillet, and he shoots you dead. According to the law he was justified and within his rights. I guess it really is wrong to “take a knife to a gun fight,,,” bc if you use a knife you can get arrested, but if you have a gun, you’re good.

And again, Sanford police don’t file any charges, in spite of a dead black male laid out in the grass. For 46 days???

Shansays:

April 28, 2012 at 5:32 am

It sickens me that some of you MOTHERS want a MAN that killed a CHILD to walk free.

Who cares what the media says. The fact is that a child was walking home to his parents and was shot and killed. You all have allowed media coverage to desensitize yourselves to the point of turning this into a political issue and seeing seeing typical comments from the usuals on this list sadly does not surprise me. A child was KILLED. The end!

Momof4says:

April 30, 2012 at 8:43 am

What bother’s me is this.

Zimmerman had no way of knowing that Tryvonn was 17. All he knew is the MAN was bigger and taller than he was. All he knew is that his family was unsafe due to the inadequate police response in his neighbor hood.

As for being horrified that people support Zimmerman as a man who killed a child. Go blow smoke up someone else’s butt.

Everyone is someone else’s child. and Anyone can threaten you or your family.

I am completely sure if it was up to you and you thought death was imminent you would sacrifice your life so that the child killing you could live right?

I don’t honestly care if someone of a depraved mind be 10 or 100, I won’t hesitate if they threaten my family’s security or my own life.

I don’t know what really happened, but I lean more for supporting Zimmerman mainly because he has been wronged at every turn, lied about at every turn, and so called evidence has been fabricated or made to look damning.

That’s my two cents

thoop2kidssays:

April 30, 2012 at 9:50 am

Shan – I could not agree more.

Let us not forget the Kaycee Anthony trial, there was more negative media around this case then almost any other in the past 5 years (and it was not race related!) and the court of opinion did not end up being the court of laws decision. I believe that our legal system is better then basing their decisions on media speculation and that in the end justice for prevail for all envolved… or so I hope…

I didn’t see so many of you rushing to Kaycee’s defence, so why Zimmerman? Death is final and murder is murder no matter what race, age, gender, political affiliation etc. you are..

juliussays:

April 30, 2012 at 10:49 am

Shan and thoop2kids: Who cares what the media says.? I care. I care that they took so many steps (including outright deceit) to show the event in a certain way. I care, because of the vandalism around the city that was caused, because of the elderly people that were threatened because someone put out their address as where Zimmerman was and the general attitude that surronds the area. Maybe some of you have never lived in an area with high racial tension, but it can be intimidating and have you questioning everything you say and do and wondering if someone will see you as a perpertrator of racial oppression.

People are being manipulated by the media. They are being manipulated and are acting out in ways that are not in their best interest? Last I checked, violence, vandalism and intimidation aren’t exactly legal. I assume you ladies don’t care about that. You don’t care that the emotions of young people are being purposely toyed with so as to create a pushback.

Most of the posts on here (including mine) are not really defending Zimmerman more they are angry about people trying to inflame emotions. I guess the fall out doesn’t really matter.
USA Today compared this incident to the Rodney King trial. If something like that were to happen would we still be saying, who cares what the media says (when they are not representing the whole truth).

Oh and BTW, if you can give me some indication as to how Casey Anthoney was fearful of her 3 year old daughter, than maybe I might have some understanding of where you are coming from, but these cases are really different in my opinion.

The fact is we don’t know the facts. We do know that the media has tried to portray only certain facts that support what they want the public to think. I don’t like being manipulated.

juliussays:

April 30, 2012 at 10:50 am

Oh and did Casey Anthony call 911 right before she allegedly killed her daughter???

thoop2kidssays:

April 30, 2012 at 11:39 am

Julius – can you explain how you come to the realization that Zimmerman was fearful, instead of fearfully going back HOME he persued the perp (you know, the teenager holding a drink and candy) AGAINST 911 directives? Does that really speak as fear? I think not…

I will state again – Death is final and murder is MURDER no matter the RACE

the link between Casey and this is a bit ridiculous I admit, but what I was trying to show was that the “fairness” of trail because the media has distorted public peception really does not apply

juliussays:

April 30, 2012 at 1:46 pm

thoop2kids: Julius – can you explain how you come to the realization that Zimmerman was fearful, instead of fearfully going back HOME he persued the perp (you know, the teenager holding a drink and candy) AGAINST 911 directives? Does that really speak as fear? I think not…

Isn’t that the question at the heart of the matter. First off, I don’t know if we know for sure if he stopped following him or not. I thought he said he would stop. However, there was a picture of Zimmerman’s head covered in blood and he had grass stains all over his back. At some point something did happen, but we don’t know who did what to start the altercation or what was happening when the victim was shot.

I do think it is possible that Zimmerman was scared of Trayvon. He called 911 first, which isn’t usual for people that are about to go just shoot someone for fun. If in fact, Trayvon had been accused of assault in the past, it is in the realm (or at least my realm) of possibility that he might have been agressive in this situation here.

Most people on this post (including myself) have been saying we don’t know what happened. I am not going to prove the defense’s case here. I just don’t think the full picture was shown here.

I maintain that the media was irresponsible. Sitting in a nice Times Square newsroom showing edited clips is kind of easy. Those people aren’t going to have to deal with the consequences of their irresponsible, incomplete coverage. The residents of Sanford and ordinary people across the country will be dealing with it.

It isn’t just about Zimmerman, Trayvon. It is about whether we are comfortable with a media that will use something like this and turn it into propaganda, which in my view is basically what they have done.

We can disagree on whether Zimmerman had any reason to feel fear. We can disagree that the media was irresponsible. We should just recognize that these are two separate things stemming from the same tragedy.

Momof4says:

April 30, 2012 at 1:46 pm

thoop2kids – If you read the accurate reports is after calling 911 Zimmerman continued to follow a man (not a kid, as he had no way of telling the age). Then he decided to go back to his truck where (allegedly) he was assaulted. In all reports he did not chase after a kid waving a gun and fire. He (Zimmerman) had a gun (was not drawn while he returned to his truck), then was assaulted by a LARGER MAN, and fired when he feared for his life.

Read all the reports not just the filth and lies spewed by most of the media.

Marysays:

May 1, 2012 at 11:25 pm

I’m not sure if this is true, but I did hear he tutored kids for free on the weekend, including black kids. I do know the media cut out parts of the tape to make him sound racist, because later they came out with the entire tape. He is part Latino, so I don’t know why they keep referring this as a white/black issue. I guess we will only know the real truth once all the facts come in. I do feel so bad for the families.

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